Taiwanese Leader Backs Sovereignty Referendum

August 4, 2002|By Keith Bradsher The New York Times

Hong Kong — President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan said Saturday that separate countries now exist on either side of the Taiwan Strait and voiced support for legislation authorizing a referendum to declare Taiwan independent of China, positions that are certain to anger Beijing.

Speaking of the Taiwan Strait, less than 100 miles of ocean that separates Taiwan from eastern China, Chen declared, "Simply put, with Taiwan and China on each side of the strait, each side is a country -- this needs to be clear."

He made the comment from his office in Taipei, the capital, in a video teleconference with pro-independence Taiwanese in Tokyo.

Chen also lent his support to pro-independence forces in his Democratic Progressive Party who want the national Legislature to approve a law making a plebiscite on independence possible.

"I want to sincerely urge and encourage everybody to seriously consider the importance and urgency of passing legislation on a referendum," he said.

Chen's statements are the closest he has come to endorsing independence since taking office two years ago. He did not actually say when or even whether a referendum should be held but stuck to endorsing legislation to make such a referendum possible.

The holding of referendums, he said, "is a basic human right that cannot be withheld or restricted."

An official in the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese government in Beijing said Saturday afternoon that the speech had been noticed. "At present it's the weekend, normal staff aren't on duty, so we haven't an official response yet to President Chen Shui-bian's speech, but the Chinese government won't be deviating from the One China principle," said the official, who declined to be named.

Ever since Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party supporters retreated to Taiwan after losing China's civil war in 1949, Beijing has maintained that Taiwan is a renegade province, and has consistently refused to renounce the use of force to reunite Taiwan with the mainland.

The comments on Saturday mark the second time in two weeks that Chen has made statements certain to draw Beijing's ire. He said on July 21 that his people should "walk down our own Taiwanese road to find Taiwan's future." Chen made those comments a few hours after the Pacific island of Nauru recognized Beijing and broke diplomatic relations with Taipei.